ALA. EPA. DHA. What do these acronyms have in common? They’re types of Omega-3 fatty acids. But what do Omega-3s do, and why does the type of Omega in your multivitamins matter, anyway?

Mega Omegas: What They Do for You

To answer the first question, Omega-3 fatty acids help support your heart health and brain health. They’re also an essential component of cell membranes. Needless to say, it’s crucial that you get enough Omega-3s from food and supplement intake, because your body can’t efficiently synthesize them on its own.*

Types of Omega-3s: Not All Fatty Acids are Created Equal

EPA and DHA Omega-3 fatty acids are commonly found in shellfish, salmon, and tuna. Vegetarian sources are found in some foods like flaxseed, soybean, and canola, but they tend to primarily contain ALA. Your body can only convert a very small percentage (about 5%) of ALA to DHA and EPA, which is why many dietary supplements tout fish oil as an ideal source of Omega-3’s. Not exactly veg-friendly.*

Save the Anchovies: Let's Talk About Vegan-Friendly DHA

Thing is, if you do a little digging, you’ll find that there actually is a vegan-friendly source of DHA out there. Like we mentioned earlier, DHA is found in fish. But fish get their DHA from eating phytoplankton, which get it from eating microalgae. That means the true source of DHA is the microalgae. By cutting out the middle man (middle fish?) and going straight to the source, we can get a vegan-friendly form of DHA, and save around 250 anchovies per bottle of multivitamins in the process.*

Ritual’s Omega-3 DHA

At Ritual, using clean, vegan-friendly ingredients that actually work in your body is simply who we are. So when we found out that we could get Omega-3 DHA through vegan algal oil sourced from fermented microalgae (a patented process that also leaves minimal environmental contamination, btw) from Algarithm in Canada, we of course went for it.

That's not all. In a clinical study conducted by Auburn University, Essential for Women was shown to increase omega-3 DHA levels by 41% over 12 weeks.*

So, to sum it up: Take your multivitamins, get the Omega-3 DHA your body needs, and save the anchovies.*